The Lockdown Log | Interview with Judy - Communications Coordinator

Last updated on 20 June 2020

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Welcome to The Lockdown Log!

In this series, The Lockdown Log, I’m going to be interviewing some of my friends from New Zealand, to hear a little about what their experience was like during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) Lockdown that our country went through in April and May 2020. For some of my friends, life radically changed, for others, it was only a little different. But whatever has happened in the last few months, whatever their situation has been or will continue to be, they have a story, and one that I believe is worth sharing, if not for now, then for the future.

In this instalment of The Lockdown Log, I chat with my friend Judy who is a Communications Coordinator in Auckland.

Judy! Thanks so much for chatting with me today! Can you believe we’ve moved into Level 2!? It really feels like we’re getting somewhere with COVID-19 here in New Zealand. If we were back at the start of the year when things were what we might call ‘normal’, what does a usual week look like for you?

Hello! Yeah, it’s crazy! Sure, so I work in communications at a think tank, in a beautiful location in Auckland. It’s 4 acres of secret gardens, with a 180-degree view of the Manakau Harbour. My work week usually looks like me following the sun. Moving from location to location to be as comfortable as possible. It’s a hard, hard life.

Haha! Sure sounds like it!

Haha. Nah, I work in a small team of eight, where we all get along so well; we’re a very social bunch. My workload consists of a lot of random things, including podcast recording and editing, video production, a bajillion email sending… nothing too hectic, but I also have seasons of absolute craziness.

What kind of things do you get up to outside of work?

I am part of a volleyball team, but my main highlight of the week is Saturday morning volunteering. I volunteer at a rest home, where I go and spend 2 hours chilling out and chatting with 100-year-olds. I LOVE IT.

But my life is also quite social, I am out most nights. Whether it’s hanging with friends, church events, date nights.

That sounds awesome! My sister did some volunteering at a rest home for a short while and came back with the best stories!

We went into Lockdown at the end of March. How did work change for you? Were you able to work from home?

Even though I live in Auckland, home is in Palmerston North, so I moved there for lockdown … and I didn’t leave my parent’s house for 47 days. It was beautiful! Work actually changed pretty dramatically, location-wise, and social-wise. My workload was very consistent, but I desperately missed the social aspect of it. I missed my friends. Sadly, my hours and pay got cut, but considering I still have a job, I am so grateful for any and all work I get.

I know a lot of people who decided to bubble and go through lockdown somewhere other than where they’re currently based. Did you find working from home doable?

I actually found working from home really hard. I felt like a student again. The feeling of always having your work there, laptop open on your desk, I felt guilty any time I was away from my desk not working. There’s always work to do, with it so in reach, it felt like there was something always hanging over me, even when there wasn’t any pressure to overachieve from my work.

That’s what a few of my other friends have said too! There was little to no separation of work and home.

Yeah exactly! So that wasn’t too great to start off with, but I got into a pretty good routine with taking breaks and knowing when to let things go for the day.

While most of the country is now back at work, do you have any tips for those who are still working from home, both in New Zealand and around the world?

Have a routine. 100% have a routine. And if you’re living with others, try and align your breaks with their breaks, or their walks.

I also found that I had to make sure I left the house before the afternoon. Fresh air was desperately needed. I could sometimes go till 5pm and realise I hadn’t been outside all day. Then I wondered why I was feeling so antsy.

Getting out and about at least once a day was so important, otherwise, it starts getting to you.

One day I was feeling all silly. I was being overdramatic about everything and annoying my dear mother to no end (I even started talking to her in a southern twang voice), and she just looked at me and with a completely straight face, she said, “please go outside. The cows will befriend you.”

Ha! That is excellent. I know her well, and I can just picture her saying this! Other than being asked to befriend the cows, what did you find the hardest about lockdown?

Not seeing my boyfriend. But our communication, let me tell you, is now a thing to behold!

I found a lot of things hard. I found myself getting really really anxious in the first few weeks, just not really knowing what was going on, and realising the whole fricking world doesn’t know and that really got me. Just hectic. But being a Christian, reminding myself and having others doing morning devotions and daily podcasts with me settled my anxious thoughts to the eternal hope we have in our faith. This economic, social break down of the world we knew is not the end. We’re going to be okay…

I also had to be so so cautious in the way I was talking to myself, in the third week of lockdown I just had a big cry, a whole day of crying. It was not fun, but it was just my body telling my mind and feelings that the loop of bad thoughts was actually not doing me any favours.

I definitely get that! The day they announced we were going to be in lockdown I think I sort of went into shock, and I felt ill for the entire day and I didn’t really know why.

Pay attention to your body people, whoever is reading this. It often knows a lot more than we give it credit for.

And be nice to yourself. I hate writing that. It’s the hardest thing for me to show myself, but give yourself some grace. Everyone is going through a crap time. We’re going to be okay.

Such good advice and something that I think is needed at all times, not just during a pandemic.

What did you miss when you were in lockdown?

What I missed the most was my old people. As I said before, I volunteer at a rest home on the weekend, and I missed their crazy crazy chats every week. They’re honestly some of the funniest people I know. When you’re 200 and don’t have a filter; boy, the stories they share!

I bet they’re absolute gold! Between work, being away from Auckland, and befriending cows, is there anything that actually you’ve been grateful for, during Lockdown?

I’ve been so grateful for the silence. And stillness.

Just slowing down life has been so needed. You don’t realise how quickly you’re living until you stop. Then suddenly so many things come into alignment to just show you how shallowly you were living.

I’ve also been so grateful to my friends who called me every week. Man, do they know when to pull through when times are tough, and when it’s not just me going through a tough time, but I could be there (distantly) for them too.

While Zoom meetings were a bit rough, Zoom catch-ups with friends were brilliant, weren’t they? Is there anything that you’ve actually enjoyed during this time?

My mum, dad, brother and I started a pool competition. I was winning the first day, then my beginner’s luck well and truly wore off and I could not bluff my way through weekend games. I can confidently say, I will never improve at playing pool; my understanding of physics and how to get the balls to go where you hit them fail me. I will never understand it. Haha. Even though I sucked, I really did enjoy it. I also enjoyed my brother’s weird music, my mother gradually getting more and more giggly from her gin, and my dad’s blindness, yet still hitting every shot in. Haha, a wacky bunch if you ever did think.

What I hated during the lockdown, was the “family” decision to watch all 28 Jame Bond films. I died. I made it through about 12 full movies (all the Daniel Craig ones, thank you, Jesus, for that body), but it was a CHALLENGE. #firstworldproblems

Is anything that you’ve taken up during Lockdown that you’d like to carry forward into the coming months?

I’ll definitely take with me the daily walks I’ve been going on; my parents have a pretty cool bush walk around our property, and I loved just getting out every day to have a quick walk. I’ll keep doing that I think.

While New Zealand is coming out of self-isolation and lockdown, do you have any tips for readers who are still at home for surviving isolation and lockdown-like situations?

You’re not alone. Call your friends. Tell them what’s going on. This won’t be forever.

‘This won’t be forever’ is something that I’ve also told myself a lot over the past few months.

And last, but certainly not least, in fact possibly the most asked question about Lockdown … did you do anything drastic to your hair?

Hahahaha. I love this question. No. Did you?

I did actually. Well not too drastic, but I did dye it fully for the first time ever. Just a wash out dye in case it went horribly wrong. It was an attempt to hide the onslaught of early greys. I think I succeeded.

Thank you so much, Judy, for talking to me about your experience during New Zealand’s COVID-19 lockdown. I really appreciate you taking the time!

Stay tuned for another edition of The Lockdown Log coming soon!

To learn more about New Zealand’s alert level system, check out the COVID-19 website.